ambsace
[eymz-eys, amz-]
noun
the lowest throw at dice, the double ace.
bad luck; misfortune.
the smallest amount or distance.
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A bead of sweat ran down Tim’s back. He rolled the cup, hearing the two dice clatter inside. His opponent grinned. The missing teeth made him look more like a wild beast than a man, and the scars he had worked into his many tattoos did not help correct that impression.
Tim took a deep breath and tipped the cup. The dice fell still. He peaked under it, and his blood ran cold. Three. Between the two dice, he got nothing but a three. It was not the worst thing he could have rolled, but it was close. The only way he could win was if his opponent had even worse luck, and given the rest of the rolls so far, that was probably not going to happen. Tim suspected the man was cheating, but he could not prove it.
The man smirked and took up his own cup. Technically, the two were supposed to flip cups together, but Tim was not going to correct the man on his play style. The large man languidly rolled his cup, rattling the dice in slow, lazy loops before tipping it over. The dice went still and the man peaked at them.
There was nothing on his face. Just that same confident smirk. Then something. It was a tiny thing. The barest twitch of the eye. It was barely there, and Tim had no idea whether it was his eyes playing tricks on him, or maybe even a ploy. But it was the only thing he had to go off of.
“Twenty.” The big man said, dumping the number of chips on the table between them.
He had done so with no hesitation. No hint that he was bluffing. But Tim had to take a risk, or else he was going to lose. And that was not something he could have happen. The two armed men behind him ensured that.
“Thirty.” He said, pushing the chips in. His opponent grinned.
“Seventy.”
Tim blanched. That was only a little less than what he had left. He would need to put everything he had left on the line. A single roll of the dice, where he had miserable numbers. If he went out now, he would still have enough for one more roll. Maybe a luckier one. But was it worth it? Even if he won the next roll, so what? He would still have so much more to go, and the odds were slim. No, he had to bet it all on this roll. On that one tiny twitch of the eye.
“All in.” He said. He hesitantly pushed the rest of his chips in.
The tattooed man snorted. “Bold. I like it. Sure you want to do that? Seems like you don’t got the numbers to back up the bet. It’d be smarter for you to save some for the next roll.”
“I...I meant what I said.”
The man shrugged. “Too bad.” He said, matching the final bet. “Sure you don’t want to back out now? I’ll be nice and give you another chance. I’d hate to end this too soon. It’s just getting fun.”
“Let’s...let’s just get this over with.”
The man’s eye twitched again. And once more, it was a subtle, tiny thing. So fast and small that Tim could not be sure it was there. But after the second time, he was more confident in his choice. Not by much, but any little bit helped.
“Too bad. Okay, show ‘em.”
Tim took a deep breath and raised his cup. He heard snickering at the pathetic roll.
“Oh, that’s a shame. Looks like I win.” The man said, reaching for the pot.
“W-wait! You...you didn’t show your dice.”
“You rolled a three. Just accept it. You lost.”
“No. Show...show them. Show us your dice.”
“Don’t need to. I rolled a seven.” I win.
Tim felt his blood run cold. A seven. That was disturbingly likely. The most likely, in fact. But the fact that he hadn’t shown them yet...Tim acted on his hunch. Before anyone knew what happened, his hand darted out and snatched the scared man’s cup. Under it were the two dice. But they did not show a seven. They showed a two.
“S-snake eyes.” Tim said breathily. “You lose.”
“What? No. I...that’s...”
The other men in the room looked nervously at each other.
“I win this roll.” Tim said. He reached out and scooped up the tokens. His heart beat in his chest. He still had a long way to go, but at least now he had a shot. Not much of one, but he had one. It was more than he’d had all night. “Next..next roll. The game is just getting started.”
